Two generations, one company
The advantages and challenges of working with family within the trade sector
Can you imagine working for your parents? Perhaps as your brother’s supervisor or your sister’s co-worker? Now that could be a dream come true or a reason to hand in your notice without a second thought.
In Germany, there are many small and medium-sized companies run by family members who have to work side by side every day. Family-run companies are often depicted as lovely places to work with a high level of job security. But what’s it really like to work with family at that level? What are the benefits and what challenges might you have to overcome?
We paid a visit to construction company Peter Baumgärtner Bauunternehmung in Bretzenheim to find out the answers to these very questions. Having founded the company back in 1992, Peter Baumgärtner now works alongside his wife and his two sons, Martin and Christian. Christian joined his parents’ business way back in 2010, whilst his brother Martin followed in his footsteps in 2016.


They both trained as bricklayers independently, not at their father's company. And that was really important to Peter. Both sons did end up making their way back to their parents’ company eventually and yet they’ve never received any preferential treatment.
“To start off with, we just did exactly what we were told. We'd never question what we were asked to do or suggest any ideas of our own. This changed gradually over time and now we're treated as equal partners.” – Christian
„To start off with, we just did exactly what we were told.
We'd never question what we were asked to do or suggest any ideas of our own. This changed gradually over time
and now we're treated as equal partners.“
(Christian Baumgärtner)
Even though both sons had a lot of experience and a good understanding of the way things were done – having worked at other companies for long stints – they were expected to respect the hierarchy in place at the company and work their way up to where they are now. They didn’t get any special treatment just because of their family status.
And yet working with their father did give them both the opportunity to explore and get to know a number of working areas. In return, the sons were in a position to offer perspectives and ideas that were new to the company. For example, the two sons were put in charge of digitalisation from the outset.
For all three of them, the greatest challenge and benefit of working together is the ongoing conversation between them.
“One real strength of a team like ours is that we're constantly communicating with one another in a way that only families really can. If I called up one of my other employees one evening and asked them for their opinion on this and that, they’d probably run a mile. You can't do that with people outside of your family. And that’s the great advantage of family-run companies. We can communicate with each other on a different level.” – Peter


The ongoing discussion amongst family members has the added bonus that lots of things can be talked through without any delay or unnecessary admin. There’s no need to wait until you next have a meeting with the boss if you have a brilliant idea to share. You can simply get on and share it.
And yet this also leads onto one of the major challenges faced by family-run companies – the blurring of the boundaries between work and home.
“The company is at the heart of all that we do. Even at the weekend and especially when our workload is heavy. If we’re thinking about whether to hire someone, we’ll end up pondering our decision over the weekend and holidays.” – Christian
„We're gradually taking on more responsibility and doing the very best we can.
This will continue until the time comes in the future for us to take care of the lion’s share.“
(Martin Baumgärtner)
Watch the interview in full length here!
Peter Baumgärtner Bauunternehmung has already started grappling with one of the major hurdles family-run companies are having to overcome all around the world – handing over the reins to the next generation. This father and son team already has their future trajectory mapped out. Peter wants to hand over more and more tasks to his sons in the years leading up to his retirement, and the sons have gradually begun taking on greater responsibilities. This all started off with the Instagram account, followed by job vacancies and recruitment. And now the sons are having to take the lead and manage larger building projects.
“We're gradually taking on more responsibility and doing the very best we can. This will continue until the time comes in the future for us to take care of the lion’s share.” – Martin
„We see our work as a vocation rather than a job.
We pour our passion into everything we do for the business.“
(Peter Baumgärtner)

And yet even when Peter has officially left the business, he'll still be on hand to help out his sons with handy hints and tips. This will allow the younger generation to continue to draw on their father’s wealth of expertise, whilst they take their own steps into the future.
After all, the three of them agree that: “We see our work as a vocation rather than a job. We pour our passion into everything we do for the business.” – Peter
Website: www.bauen-baumgaertner.de
Facebook: Bauunternehmung Peter Baumgärtner
Instagram: @bauunternehmung_baumgaertner